Archive for October, 2015

We are indeed blessed. Minimally, we are all blessed with common grace, and the gift of life. To those of us who are walking in relationship with God, we know that we are ultimately and supremely blessed, and blessed for eternity. Only people who are washed in the blood of Christ are able to accurately claim this redemption. So, my guess is that it is not by accident that when the Hebrew words for bless were being translated into the English language that such a powerful and descriptive expression was selected. (more…)

Paul uses the word pálē in Ephesians 6:12 to describe the reality of the Christian life. Pálē is the Greek word for wrestling, which was the most popular organized sport in Ancient Greece. This type of combat was characterized by trickery, cunning, and deception. Scripture tells us that a Christian wrestles not with flesh and blood but with the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. I would be the first to admit that I am often ill-equipped for the match. I would venture to say that many Christians are ignorant of the attacks against them. As Halloween draws near, one may be led to believe that the war we have with Satan is a gruesome one – bloody, evil, and explicit. Maybe at times it will be, but Satan’s weapons are often insidious. We see the temptation of Christ in the desert was waged by incorrect usage of scripture (Matthew 4:1-11). (more…)

I remember well one of the first “big dates” with my wife; it was to a restaurant located on a ship near the beach – a beautiful setting. It was a chilly December evening and we promenaded around the deck beforehand in our formal attire. As I recall we shared the chateaubriand special-for-two as the stewards stood at the ready to attend to our culinary demands. Company, great! Meal, superb! Coffee, amazing! And at the end of it all a complementary “desert tree” was delivered to our table filled with sumptuous delights which included large, plump, juicy, perfectly formed chocolate-covered strawberries – one of my wife’s favorites. The perfect end to a perfect meal. (more…)